Starting the 30-Day Design Pattern Challenge

Welcome to the 30-day design pattern challenge! In this series, we will explore one design pattern each day, starting with the basics and moving on to more advanced patterns. Our goal is to understand the importance of design patterns, how they are used, and their benefits, with easy-to-understand examples.

Design Pattern

What are Design Patterns?

Design patterns are solutions to common problems that arise during software development. They are flexible, modular, and reusable, making them essential tools for any developer. By using design patterns, we can avoid reinventing the wheel and instead focus on creating efficient and maintainable code.

Why Do We Need Design Patterns?

Design patterns help us:

• Avoid duplicated code
• Write more maintainable and flexible code
• Solve common problems efficiently
• Improve code readability and understandability

Example: The Car Class

Let’s consider an example of a simple Car class:

public class Car {
    private String model;
    public Car(String model) {
        this.model = model;
    }
}

As we add more properties to the class, we can end up with a “telescoping” constructor, which is an anti-pattern. Instead, we can use the Builder Pattern to create objects in a more flexible and maintainable way.

Suggestions for Object-Oriented Design

When writing object-oriented code, keep in mind:

• Separate varying code from invariant code
• Code to an interface, not a concrete implementation
• Encapsulate behaviors as much as possible
• Favor composition over inheritance
• Loosely couple interacting components
• Design for extension, not modification

Types of Design Patterns

Design patterns are categorized into three main types:

• Creational: Relate to object construction and encapsulation
• Structural: Concerned with class composition and construction
• Behavioral: Dictate class interaction and responsibility delegation

We will explore each of these categories in depth throughout this series.

Creational Patterns

• Builder Pattern
• Prototype Pattern
• Singleton Pattern
• Abstract Factory Pattern

Structural Patterns

• Adapter Pattern
• Bridge Pattern
• Composite Pattern
• Decorator Pattern
• Facade Pattern
• Flyweight Pattern
• Proxy Pattern

Behavioral Patterns

• Interpreter Pattern
• Template Pattern
• Chain of Responsibility Pattern
• Command Pattern
• Iterator Pattern
• Mediator Pattern
• Memento Pattern
• Observer Pattern
• State Pattern
• Strategy Pattern
• Visitor Pattern

Join Me on This Journey!

Over the next 30 days, we will explore each of these design patterns in detail, one pattern per day. Join me on this journey to improve your coding skills and become a better software developer!

Stay tuned for the next post, where we will dive into the first design pattern: the Builder Pattern!